Stormy Tulips offered to the Mayor of The Hague

On 20 January a meeting with the Mayor of The Hague, Mr. Jan van Zanen, took place. The purpose of this auspicious ceremony was to hand over a set of paintings that had been pledged to the city of Den Haag and to the Mayor as a gift by the Pakistani-Canadian artist Alia Bilgrami. The work is a triptych – a painting in three parts – called Stormy Tulips. The painting is very special to the artist, as it narrates the journey or cycle of life. It is rendered in gouache in the miniature painting style, a reflection of her South Asian heritage. In the triptych, two tulips are the protagonists, braving life together, one storm at a time and coming out stronger at the end. Even when one tulip survives the other, life must go on, as reflected in the background of the last painting.

Over the summer of 2020, Bilgrami got in touch with the Mayor’s office because she and her spouse had recently become residents of The Hague and they were keen to express their gratitude in some shape or form. The artist’s father inspired them with the idea of giving one of her paintings as a gift to their new city. Since Bilgrami is a professional artist who loves painting tulips, this seemed like a very good idea indeed. The rest, as they say, is history! To give you a little background about the artist and why she feels so privileged to be here – she thinks that it is the perfect place to create her art, since she loves the tulip as much as the Dutch do! As explained to Mr. van Zanen during the meeting, she never tires of using it as a symbol in various styles, and through a myriad of media. The Mayor took a keen interest in learning more about why she and her spouse moved to the Netherlands and said that he always loves to hear why expats choose to move here. After this they spent a little time discussing Bilgrami’s career as a visual artist and curator. She has a background in contemporary miniature painting that she often combines with analogue photography techniques. The tulip has become a personal symbol in her art that stems from its fascinating history – first cultivated in Turkey and Persia, then finding its way to Europe several centuries later. It sometimes reminds the artist of her own multicultural life experience, and that of others like her.

The Mayor was happy to receive the triptych and Bilgrami felt very honored to be granted a private audience with him. The meeting, attended only by the Mayor, events manager Kevin Verbaas and Alia Bilgrami, due to Covid-19 restrictions, was a lovely and successful afternoon. Both gentlemen took a keen interest in her art and life experiences. The artist feels content that Stormy Tulips has found a home in the land of tulips. After the meeting, she said: “I am honored and happy that the work has found its way to the Mayor’s office walls, where I hope the tulips will contribute to the positive atmosphere and cheer him up on a daily basis!” Maybe one day the paintings will adorn the walls of a museum in the Netherlands; at least that is what the artist aspires to.

Written by Nanda Jagusiak-Monteiro

For more information about the artist visit www.abilgrami.com or follow her on Instagram: @aliabilgrami.art

Stormy tulips by Alia Bilgramiris Roos

The exhibition Surinamese School, which opens on 12 December at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, is a celebration of Surinamese painting in all its diversity and depth. Presenting over 100 artworks by 35 artists, Surinamese School explores the key themes and narratives at the heart of Surinamese painting from 1910 to the mid-1980s. Depictions of Surinamese history, spirituality and everyday life, alongside forays into abstraction, and social change, gave shape to artistic developments.

The exhibition pays particular attention to Surinamese pioneers who blazed a trail for other artists by spearheading the development of art education and professional practice and, with this, the development of painting. A team of guest curators identified the artist-innovators who put Surinamese art on the map. Some artists combined their artistic practice with social and political activism, in pursuit of a (culturally) independent Suriname. Surinamese School also features a significant number of works by artists who lived and worked in Amsterdam for many years such as Armand Baag and Quintus Jan Telting.

In the year in which Suriname celebrates 45 years of independence, the exhibition also recalls the country’s shared history with the Netherlands. One of the legacies of prolonged Dutch colonial rule, for example, led to a dearth of professional art education and, for many years, Surinamese artists were compelled to leave their own country to pursue their art training in the Netherlands. After graduating, many artists returned to Suriname permanently or temporarily. Jules Chin A Foeng completed his education in the Netherlands and, upon returning to Suriname, championed Surinamism in his work and in art education. In addition to art training in their own country, which evolved against a backdrop of mounting nationalism, processes of decolonisation and nation-building, the artistic dialogue between Suriname and the Netherlands impacted the work and life of various artists in the exhibition.